(image via: my text message screenshots)
Full disclosure: My girlfriend went to Notre Dame.
In honor of Notre Dame’s final paycheck to Charlie Weis going out this month, I decided to look back at one of the most anticipated (non-nighttime) matchups in the recent history of the rivalry.
2006: #11 Michigan at #2 Notre Dame.
Link to game (thanks to WolverineHistorian)
Michigan came off of a disappointing 2005 campaign ranked #14 at the start of 2006. The Wolverines rolled over Vanderbilt (27-7) and Central Michigan (41-17) to start the year, but their first real test on the schedule was Week 3 in South Bend. Junior QB Chad Henne barely had to warm-up his arm in the first two weeks of the season, as Michigan featured a more conservative Mike Hart-heavy game plan to keep their passing attack under wraps. Hart ran for 262 yards entering the showdown in South Bend, and was the ultra quick (if not speedy) workhorse back that Michigan fans had grown to love.
The Irish, on the other hand, came into game ranked #2 in the nation, featuring wins at Georgia Tech (14-10) and a blowout at home vs. #19 Penn State (41-17). Coach Charlie Weis’s 2005 outfit went 9-3, with two of those loses to top-5 teams. Notre Dame fans were still in love with their quarterback guru head coach who led Tom Brady and the Patriots to the promised land. The Irish roster featured standouts a key positions, like QB Brady Quinn, WR Jeff Samardzija, TE John Carlson, and S Tom Zbikowski.
The Wolverines entered the game as a 5.5 point underdog. This made sense, given they were ranked lower and on the road, but the nation hadn’t had a great look at what the ‘06 Wolverines could do, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Just :30 into the first quarter, Quinn hummed a catchable pass a little high and behind Carlson. The ball popped up into the air, Prescott Burgess intercepted it, and ran untouched into the endzone for a pick-6. The opening touchdown came off of Notre Dame’s first turnover of the year and took the home crowd out of the game early.
Unfortunately, the Wolverines would immediately return the gift, as Henne, under pressure, forced his first throw of the game to no one in particular. Chinedum Ndukwe picked the ball off and sprinted to the four-yard line. Notre Dame’s offense cashed in for an easy touchdown. Henne went to the sidelines clearly frustrated with himself.
Henne didn’t have to wait long for retribution, however, as he found Mario Manningham so wide open that Tom Hammond had time to pout “Oh, wide open,” into his mic before the ball even came down to the receiver. It was a 70-yard strike, and it opened the floodgates. The Wolverine defense would intercept Quinn twice more and Manningham totaled 3 touchdowns on the afternoon. Michigan finished the half up 34-14, and won the game 47-21. It was Lloyd Carr’s first win at Notre Dame.
2006, of course, was a special year for Michigan, as the squad rolled to a 10-0 record before dropping the last two games of the year to #1 Ohio State (damn the roughing the passer penalty) and #7 USC in the Rose Bowl. Notre Dame, to its credit, finished the year 10-3, and only lost to very highly ranked teams (USC and #4 LSU).
In the years since the 2006 game, the rivalry, while still intense, never again featured two 10-win teams. Either Michigan was on a downswing, Notre Dame was on a downswing, or both. Rivalries, in my opinion, are more fun when both teams are at their best, and with the annual game with Notre Dame set to resume in 2018 I hope the Irish find their way out of the 4-8 hole they dug last year.
Also, it’ll make my girlfriend a bit more cheerful this fall.
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